may16 IB Mandarin B SL Paper 1

[#teamnosleep]

Hi guys, 

I know there aren't a lot of us taking Mandarin B SL, but I'm just wondering for those of you who do, how did guys find Paper 1?

I personally thought Text 3 & 4 a little bit tricky with Text 4 being the hardest.

[#teamnosleep]

Bump. 

[glambos]

i think the texts themselves actually seemed really straightforward, mainly because the formats were really clear and i think the points were very clearly list out so we could answer questions easily

the main thing that threw most of the class off though, was the questions about finding words/phrases similar in meaning to one they give you, like the questions about finding an appropriate replacement/synonym for a word in the text... 

 

[#teamnosleep]

42 minutes ago, glambos said:

i think the texts themselves actually seemed really straightforward, mainly because the formats were really clear and i think the points were very clearly list out so we could answer questions easily

the main thing that threw most of the class off though, was the questions about finding words/phrases similar in meaning to one they give you, like the questions about finding an appropriate replacement/synonym for a word in the text... 

 

Yes! That was what threw me off too, because I couldn't understand 2 out of the 3 phrases which we're supposed to find its synonym to in the text. I actually thought Text 3 and 4 are more tricky than the first two texts. 

[Enrico Giori]

My classmates and I found the Chinese B SL paper 1 extremely challenging, and especially rather different at times from the previously administered IB Chinese B SL Paper 1 examinations. Some of the questions, such as the table on the first page were rather unsettling, and I feel as if the IB has sort of forgotten that students who take these exams are acquiring a language and not fully proficient in it. I find that many students who are fluent in Chinese take these exams and therefore the IB may be trying to make the difficulty of the exams reasonable for them (not hating on Chinese students though, just stating facts!), but this may be also hindering the performance of other candidates (non mother tongue Chinese speakers) whom are attempting to acquire the language. I am saying this as a non-Chinese mother tongue speaker who has studied Chinese for 4 years, and who has constantly achieved 40s, 41s and 42s in practice IB Chinese B SL Paper 1 examinations. 

I feel like some students take their mother tongue as a language B at IB in order to achieve level 7s and easy points, but I think the IB should implement verification strategies in order to verify whether people are actually acquiring a language or not, because this is rather unfair on those who actually are. 

[#teamnosleep]

10 minutes ago, IBStudent1225 said:

My classmates and I found the Chinese B SL paper 1 extremely challenging, and especially rather different at times from the previously administered IB Chinese B SL Paper 1 examinations. Some of the questions, such as the table on the first page were rather unsettling, and I feel as if the IB has sort of forgotten that students who take these exams are acquiring a language and not fully proficient in it. I find that many students who are fluent in Chinese take these exams and therefore the IB may be trying to make the difficulty of the exams reasonable for them (not hating on Chinese students though, just stating facts!), but this may be also hindering the performance of other candidates (non mother tongue Chinese speakers) whom are attempting to acquire the language. I am saying this as a non-Chinese mother tongue speaker who has studied Chinese for 4 years, and who has constantly achieved 40s, 41s and 42s in practice IB Chinese B SL Paper 1 examinations. 

I feel like some students take their mother tongue as a language B at IB in order to achieve level 7s and easy points, but I think the IB should implement verification strategies in order to verify whether people are actually acquiring a language or not, because this is rather unfair on those who actually are. 

It was okay for me, but I think they're getting harder and harder each year. I found the first few pages okay, but the last few pages a bit challenging. What kind of questions unsettled you? Our Chinese teacher made us do a lot of past papers for practice and I found that to be extremely helpful. 

Yes, I do know that some students who are fluent at the language who took Chinese B SL just to boost their grades, it is unfair for us because that makes the grade boundaries higher and papers getting tougher each year. I think someone should file a complaint to the IB regarding this issue. What was your predicted grade for Chinese? How did you find Paper 2? I have started a thread on Paper 2. 

[Enrico Giori]

1 hour ago, #teamnosleep said:

It was okay for me, but I think they're getting harder and harder each year. I found the first few pages okay, but the last few pages a bit challenging. What kind of questions unsettled you? Our Chinese teacher made us do a lot of past papers for practice and I found that to be extremely helpful. 

Yes, I do know that some students who are fluent at the language who took Chinese B SL just to boost their grades, it is unfair for us because that makes the grade boundaries higher and papers getting tougher each year. I think someone should file a complaint to the IB regarding this issue. What was your predicted grade for Chinese? How did you find Paper 2? I have started a thread on Paper 2. 

The table on Page 1 and the last true or false questions were the worst for my classmates and I. We did all past papers available and were a bit confused by this exam. As I said, I was constantly achieving 40s, 41s and 42s in Paper 1 exam practices, and so I am able to do the papers, but this exam threw me off.

I have a 6 predicted for Chinese B SL, and my Orals (IOA and IntOA) went really well, and I feel like my written assignment was also very good (I talked about 毒品的弊 in the form of a diary entry). Paper 2 was much better than Paper 1. 

Edited May 7, 2016 by IBStudent1225
Modification of Text Required

[Guest iblearner]

9 hours ago, glambos said:

i think the texts themselves actually seemed really straightforward, mainly because the formats were really clear and i think the points were very clearly list out so we could answer questions easily

the main thing that threw most of the class off though, was the questions about finding words/phrases similar in meaning to one they give you, like the questions about finding an appropriate replacement/synonym for a word in the text... 

 

SAME 

[Guest iblearner]

I was pleasantly surprised by how relatively easy the Mandarin paper was this year. I was actually able to understand the texts, and I could answer all the questions. The only thing I wasn't able to attempt confidently was the synonym questions. Paper 2 was good too. I'm hoping for a 6 but, you know, you'll never know. 

[#teamnosleep]

13 hours ago, IBStudent1225 said:

The table on Page 1 and the last true or false questions were the worst for my classmates and I. We did all past papers available and were a bit confused by this exam. As I said, I was constantly achieving 40s, 41s and 42s in Paper 1 exam practices, and so I am able to do the papers, but this exam threw me off.

I have a 6 predicted for Chinese B SL, and my Orals (IOA and IntOA) went really well, and I feel like my written assignment was also very good (I talked about 毒品的弊 in the form of a diary entry). Paper 2 was much better than Paper 1. 

Is this about the Singaporean cuisine thing? I think the trickiest part of the question is that you have to find the same keywords, while in previous past papers those key words are more apparent than it is now. My classmate went on answering without even looking at the text because he lived in Singapore for quite a long time so he knows about it. Not fair :/. Yes, I also struggled with the last true or false question it was so hard! In the end I think I answered the question true false true. What about you? Even my classmates (one who is from Hong Kong and another who is a Canadian who spent years living in Singapore) thought it was tricky as well. The questions regarding Text 3 was also tricky. Like stress? Really?  

My predicted was a 6 too, but got changed into a 7 recently. My IA went well as well, so I think if I screwed up Paper 1 at least I have that for back up. You should be able to do well as well, since your predicted is a 6 hehe. Your IA seems interesting. Paper 2 has always been my strength so I'm not too worried about it though, but I think I might have gone beyond the word limit . How many pages did you write for Paper 2?

[#teamnosleep]

13 hours ago, iblearner said:

I was pleasantly surprised by how relatively easy the Mandarin paper was this year. I was actually able to understand the texts, and I could answer all the questions. The only thing I wasn't able to attempt confidently was the synonym questions. Paper 2 was good too. I'm hoping for a 6 but, you know, you'll never know. 

That's really good for you haha. The texts themselves are not hard, its just tricky and it takes time for you to able to learn the tricks. The synonym question, I swear to God, is hell. I felt like they were just there to deduct our points. Which question did you attempt for Paper 2? 

[Guest iblearner]

1 hour ago, #teamnosleep said:

That's really good for you haha. The texts themselves are not hard, its just tricky and it takes time for you to able to learn the tricks. The synonym question, I swear to God, is hell. I felt like they were just there to deduct our points. Which question did you attempt for Paper 2? 

lol ikr

I chose the question about celebrations for paper 2, you? 

[Enrico Giori]

7 hours ago, #teamnosleep said:

 

Paper 2 has always been my strength so I'm not too worried about it though, but I think I might have gone beyond the word limit . How many pages did you write for Paper 2?

I wrote 483字 in Paper 2, which is two full sides and a half of the Chinese B two page answer sheet. I don't know what the tolerance level for characters is, but as long as it wasn't dramatically longer they won't mind I guess!